I’m pleased to feature author Sarah Loudin Thomas and her debut novel Miracle in a Dry Season today. Sarah shared compelling answers in the mini interview (I’m totally following that Pinterest board) and she’s offering a free copy of her novel to one fortunate reader. Woot! You can find the details regarding entry for the giveaway after Sarah’s bio at the end of this post. 

Wonderful, simply wonderful. A story of love, healing, and forgiveness sure to grip the heart of every reader.
–Debbie Macomber, New York Times #1 bestselling author

In a Drought, It’s the Darkest Cloud
That Brings Hope

It’s 1954 and Perla Long’s arrival in the sleepy town of Wise, West Virginia, was supposed to go unnoticed. She just wants a quiet, safe place for her and her daughter, Sadie, where the mistakes of her past can stay hidden. But then drought comes to Wise, and Perla is pulled into the turmoil of a town desperately in need of a miracle.

Casewell Phillips has resigned himself to life as a bachelor…until he meets Perla. She’s everything he’s sought in a woman, but he can’t get past the sense that she’s hiding something. As the drought worsens, Perla’s unique gift divides the town in two, bringing both gratitude and condemnation, and placing the pair in the middle of a storm of anger and forgiveness, fear and faith.

This debut novel is splendid. The story is genuine and heartfelt, with just a touch of the Divine. A story of forgiveness and reckoning, and realizing love does cover a multitude of sins. Thomas will be a go-to author after you read Miracle in a Dry Season.
–Rachel Hauck, bestselling author of The Wedding Dress and Once Upon a Prince

Charming, whimsical, and intelligently written, Miracle in a Dry Season is a beautiful debut novel!
–Ann Tatlock, Christy-award winning author of Promises to Keep

I relish the opportunity to hear what inspires a writer to craft his or her first novel. The “dinner question” is one of my all-time favorites, too. I hope you enjoy reading Sarah’s answers as much as I did.

 What was the inspiration for your novel?

The concept of writing about characters with miraculous abilities came to me because I nearly drowned when I was four. The memory of being under the water—seeing leaves and silt swirl as sunlight streamed down—is incredibly vivid. And oddly enough—it’s a pleasant memory. So not only did I survive a near drowning, I have a good memory of the experience. That’s a miracle on several levels and started me thinking about how miracles are around us all the time, but we learn to take them for granted. So I thought I’d create characters for whom the miraculous is a little more obvious.

 If you could have dinner with three people (living or dead), who would you choose and why?

Wendell Berry because I love his poetry, fiction, and essays. How many writers are good at all three? And although he’s not a West Virginian, he’s from eastern Kentucky, which is the next best thing. Jan Karon because her books (which are about God, dontcha know) did what every Christian author secretly hopes for—they crossed over into the general market. Plus, I’ve had the pleasure of hearing her speak and hugging her twice and she’s just as sweet and kind as I hoped. And finally, Gregory Peck, because he IS Atticus Finch and I’ve had a crush on him since watching To Kill a Mockingbird. I even have a Pinterest board called The Best Dinner Party Ever. It includes a few other guests as well as some potential dishes we might enjoy. I’ve given this one some thought! http://www.pinterest.com/sarahlthomas/the-best-dinner-party-ever/

 In terms of writing a novel, are you a plotter or a pantser? Or a hybrid combo?

 Definitely a pantser. The main reason I write is to find out what happens next. If I knew, I’d probably get bored and give up writing.

 What can your readers expect from you in the future? Prequel, sequel, novella, etc.

There’s a prequel currently available as an e-book for free download. Appalachian Serenade tells Robert and Delilah’s story. The second novel—Until the Harvest—is due out next summer and is about Casewell and Perla’s son, Henry. He’s going to face something very difficult and will dig himself a pretty deep hole. It’ll be up to oh-so-practical Margaret to help him see the light with the help of her little sister Mayfair who has, shall we say, a unique way of helping people heal.

Please share one piece of advice for aspiring writers you wish you’d known before you started this writing journey.

Writing for me has been about two things. Patience and persistence. If you keep writing, keep learning, keep knocking on the doors of agents and editors, you’ll eventually get there. Write a book. Polish that book and when you think it’s done, write another book. Then write another. And get plenty of feedback. When the third person tells you your novel starts in the wrong place you can be reasonably sure that your novel starts in the wrong place. And pray. God’s the author, so it helps to be talking to him regularly.

 Sarah Loudin Thomas grew up on a 100-acre farm in French Creek, WV, the seventh  generation to live there. Her Christian fiction is set in West Virginia and celebrates the  people, the land, and the heritage of Appalachia. Her first novel, Miracle in a Dry  Season, releases August 2014.

 A graduate of Coastal Carolina University in Conway, SC, Sarah once dreamed of being  a marine scientist. But her love for words won out and she has spent much of her  career in public relations and marketing. She currently oversees fundraising and  communications for a Christian children’s home in Black Mountain, NC.

 Sarah and her husband Jim live in the mountains of Western North Carolina with  Thistle–the canine equivalent to a personal trainer pushing them to hike, run, and  throw sticks. Sarah is active in her local church and enjoys cooking and–you guessed  it–reading.

 Sarah is represented by Wendy Lawton of Books & Such Literary Agency. You can visit  her at www.SarahLoudinThomas.com.

Miracle in a Dry Season is available from Amazon and Barnes and Noble.

Giveaway: Up for grabs is one copy of Miracle in a Dry Season (US residents only, please). In the comments below, please provide your name, a valid email address and tell us the one person YOU would like to have dinner with (living or deceased). Contest ends at 11:59 pm EST on 10/10/2014.